This invention relates to a transport system for transporting bulk material such as baled municipal waste by truck and rail car.
U.S. Pat. No. 633,530 discloses a hop bin comprising two rails to which a sack-like receptacle is attached made of a fabric. The sack comprises a long and wide body strip tacked to the sides of the rails. Head and tail pieces are sewed to the ends of the body-strip. Ropes are fastened by their ends between the rails to make the head and tail pieces taut. The rails are supported on two folding and jointed crotches. The crotches are hinged to the rails and arranged to be folded under the rails. The hop bins are carried to the fields for receiving hop vines which are lain in the bin while the hops are removed from the vines. These bins are arranged for manual carrying with handles at each end of the rails. These bins are not suitable for truck or rail transport of bulk material that weighs in the order of tons.
U.S. Pat. No. 842,765 discloses a cotton pickers sack carrier. The carrier, referred to as a truck, comprises runners at the base of the carrier beveled a the ends to permit propulsion in two opposite directions. The runners are connected by cross bars. The runners support uprights which are formed into tenons inserted into mortises in the runners. Bags are provided with slats at their upper edges with slats with notches to engage the tenons. Cross braces are provided with perforations to engage the tenons. The slats 12 have handles for suspension from hooks for weighing purposes. The filled sacks are removed by disengaging the slats and allowing the slats and bag to drop downwardly for passing of the filled sack between the uprights. The disclosed structure must be moved over the ground by means not shown via couplers at each of the opposite ends of the truck. This is a complex cumbersome and outmoded system for transporting cotton since sleds with runners would no longer be used in the place of modern vehicles. The combined carrier and runner arrangement is bulky and not readily adapted for transport in modem trucks or rail cars. A somewhat similar concept is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,483,582 which discloses a tobacco sled.
U.S. Pat. No. 864,555 discloses a liquid dispensing apparatus. The apparatus comprises a tank and a diaphragm or blanket which is locked in position in the tank. When the tank is filled with liquid, the liquid lifts the blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 873,237 discloses a trash, mail and the like receptacle. The receptacle comprises a frame and can with a side door and a bag with a stiff frame at its upper end for sliding on a track way on the can and which is removable from one side of the can.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,082,524, a banana shipping device is disclosed. The device comprises a collapsible frame including supporting rods pivotally secured together and a plurality of horizontal rods connecting the pivoting rods. A fabric fruit sling such as burlap is mounted on the horizontal rods. This arrangement is complex, costly to fabricate and is not adapted for carrying large weights.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,418,751 discloses a refuse receiver comprising a crate and a paper bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,029 discloses bulk transporting and storing containers for use with rail cars. The containers are not portable and are intended to remain with the rail cars. To remove the containers from the rail car, they can be collapsed. The container includes a moisture impervious bag of plastic sheet material and the like. The bag has a cover with an entrance. The bag can be turned inside out for cleaning. A collapsible bag supporting framework is provided for the bag. The bag and framework are not designed for lifting the loaded bag from the rail car.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,958,492, 3,136,425, 3,278,042, 4,685,846, 5,193,710 and 5,735,412 disclose still other racks and transport arrangements for different kinds of goods.
The present invention is a recognition of a need for a low cost bulk material transport system. It is recognized that gondola rail cars are relatively low cost and widely available. However, present bulk material shipping containers are all metal and costly. Typically such containers cost in the range of about $6000 to $10000 each. The containers are also relatively heavy and have a net weight of about four tons. Such containers can comprise about 15 to 20% of the weight carried by the rail cars, which is excessive. Further, not all facilities are served by rail. Therefore, trucks need to be used in certain facilities. The containers need to be transferred sometimes between rail and trucks. The relatively large weight of the containers thus reduces the total weight of bulk material that can be carried by a truck. The present invention is directed to a solution to these problems.
A bulk material transport system for transporting bulk material in at least one transport vehicle according to the present invention is light weight and low cost relative to present containers in use. The system is also flexible in that it is adapted to transport material by rail and truck. The system of the present invention comprises at least one carrier supporting frame adapted to be permanently secured to the at least one transport vehicle; and a bulk material carrier for receiving bulk material to be transported by the at least one transport vehicle. The carrier comprises a pair of elongated supports, each support having opposing first and second ends for mounting on the at least one frame, and a flexible sheet material forming a sling having opposing edge regions, the supports being secured to the sling at the opposing edge regions, the ends of the supports and support frame being arranged to releasably mate for releasably securing the carrier sling suspended in fixed position to the frame to preclude horizontal displacement of the secured supports relative to the at least one frame during transport of the loaded carrier.
In one aspect, the at least one vehicle comprises a rail car and a truck each having a cargo receiving body, the at least one support frame comprising a first frame for attachment to the rail car body and a second frame for attachment to the truck cargo body, the frames being arranged to receive and secure the same supports and secured sling.
In a further aspect, the first and second frames are different.
In a further aspect, the supports are hollow beams having a first length, the sling having a second length shorter than the first length, the supports for protruding beyond the carrier at each the ends for releasable mounting on the at least one frame at each the ends.
In a still further aspect, the supports have the same end configuration, the frames including a pocket member mating with and for receiving the end configuration of the supports to preclude the horizontal displacement of the carrier.
Preferably, the frame comprise a cross member for receiving thereon the ends of the supports and for supporting the ends by the force of gravity, further including an element protruding from the cross member for receiving at least a portion of the support ends and for restraining the supports from displacement in a horizontal plane.
The element may comprise a U-shaped member having a plurality of sides forming a pocket for receiving mating engaged end of a support.
In a further aspect, the element comprises one of a projection extending from the cross member and aperture in the cross member, the ends each having the other of the projection and aperture for receiving and engaging the projection vertically.
In a further aspect, the supports comprise tubular members with planar sides normal to adjacent sides, a plate, and a plurality of fasteners for attaching the plate to one of the planar sides with the sheet material of the sling sandwiched between the plate and the one side.
In a further aspect, the at least one transport vehicle comprises a rail car, the frame comprising a plurality of spaced cross members on which the ends of the supports can be mounted for dividing the rail car into a plurality of carrier receiving compartments, each compartment for receiving a different corresponding bulk material carrier.
Preferably the at least one carrier supporting frame is arranged for dividing the rail car into four compartments, each for independently receiving a bulk material carrier.
In a further aspect, the first and second frames each include a cross member having an identical support receiving element for restraining the horizontal displacement of the received support.
Preferably, the supports each have a pair of pocket members for releasably receiving a fork lift vehicle lift member to lift the carrier off of the at least one frame.
In a further aspect, the sheet material forming the sling is high density polyethylene having a tensile strength of about at least 250 lb/in2.
In a still further aspect, the carrier and frame are arranged to carry about 50,000 lb. of bulk material.